Southern Fried Chicks bring comedy tour to LCC
Article published on Monday, March 17, 2008 |
LARGO - The Southern Fried Chicks Comedy Tour starring Etta May and featuring Trish Suhr, Beth Donahue and Sonya White presents two shows Saturday, April 12, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Largo Cultural Center.
For tickets, call 727-587-6793 or go to largoarts.com.
The Southern Fried Chicks, one of the top-grossing all-female comedy on the road today, is the story of four different women, all from the South, and their hilarious take on life, love and the pursuit of happiness. It is where the Old South, the New South, and the Deep South come together for an evening of clean, clever story-telling for every generation.
Life and love in the USA has never been funnier as when the original “desperate housewives” give their points of view.
What’s the best way to describe Etta May? “Minnie Pearl with a migraine.” To put it simply, when Etta May takes the stage, she is the reigning Queen of Southern Sass. She reflects “You realize you’re getting fat when you sit in the bathtub and the water in the toilet rises!”
Born and raised in Bald Knob, Ark., Etta May grew up alongside nine older brothers, who referred to their baby sister as “the human sacrifice.” In fact, Etta May’s parents - her father, a potpourri farmer, and her mother, bedridden by constant childbearing, - did not realize Etta May was a girl until she required a training bra.
Etta May met her husband, Delbert, an aspiring truck driver, at a friend’s kegger. From across the yard their eyes locked in a love look. Nine months later, she was blessed with a boy, followed by a girl and two more boys. “That’s where my comedy comes from. I just wait for my husband or kids to do something stupid, and then I write it down.”
Through the years, Etta May had a string of dead end jobs. She faithfully drove a school bus for more than 10 years. She said she learned how to handle unruly kids by Armor All-ing the seats and touching the brakes all the way home. One night, while volunteering as a bingo caller, she recalls, “the ball sucker got stuck, and I was forced to entertain a room full of angry Catholics. It was then I realized I could make people laugh.”
Etta May won the prestigious American Comedy Awards: “Stand-Up Comic of the Year,” and has appeared on Oprah, Comic Strip Live, MTV, and as a guest commentator on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
Look for Etta May and the Southern Fried Chicks in their all new sixty minute TV special currently playing on CMT. Check your local listings. Etta May is also a headline comic on CMT’s “CMT Comedy Stage” which is the second highest rated show in CMT history. The success of the Comedy Stage franchise led to the production of the Southern Fried Chicks Comedy Tour special as the first comedy concert series for the national cable network.
Sonya White, originally from Virginia, combines her Southern charm with big city street smarts to create a show that won her multiple appearances CBS’s “Star Search” and a promo spot on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing 4.”
Other national television credits include Oxygen’s “Girls Behaving Badly,” Fox Network’s “Nightshift”, Family Channel’s “Big Brother Jake." She also has done colorful national promos for that “Dancing With the Stars” alumn, Jerry Springer and his infamous show “The Jerry Springer Show”.
Sonya’s observational comedy is enhanced by her dead-on impersonations and appropriate sound effects. Sonya is truly an urban lady as she has been a featured comedienne for Verizon Wireless on their “Fun and Games” mobile accessory option. Nothing says “city girl” quite like that.
Trish Suhr began her stand-up career in Los Angeles after leaving the family funeral business in her hometown in Middlesboro, Ky. Since her arrival, she has become a regular performer on the longest running, all-female comedy show, “Pretty Funny Women” and is also featured on the “The Southern Belles of Comedy DVD, starring Brett Butler. Television credits include “Girl's Behaving Badly” and her regular gig as co-host of The Style Channel’s “Clean House.” Trish has also been to Afghanistan several times to perform for the troops.
Beth Donahue is the typical working woman of the 21st century. Hailing from Nashville, Beth is a self proclaimed “recovering everything.” Her material is brutally funny, incredibly honest and she doesn’t joke about anything that everyone hasn’t done, thought about doing or wish they could still do.
Her “pull no punches” style has made her a hit with audiences on the over 600 radio shows across the country where Beth continues to be a regular call-in guest. Some of her television gigs include appearances on “VH-1 Stand Up Spotlight with Rosie O’Donnell”, “Evening at the Improv”, and Showtime’s “Comedy Club Network”.
After almost 20 years of performing, Beth took a job as a secretary in 2003 and was ready to give up the comic life until the Southern Fried Chicks came calling.
As she says, “I’m so ill-suited for real work it’s ridiculous.”
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Article published on Monday, March 17, 2008
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